It was on our last day in Japan when the rains stopped. We woke early, needing to catch our flight back to Manila via Cebu Pacific. With backpacks hoisted, we checked our flight on our mobile phone for the last time before heading out the door and, tadaaah, it was cancelled due to the recent storm and rescheduled for later that evening! You can just imagine our joy with that news; it means we suddenly have an extra full day to explore Tokyo on our own! Hurrah for cancelled flights! C went back to our dorm room, while I checked out the roof deck of our hostel—it was fully dry, at last!

ASAKUSA AT NIGHT

The previous night, we transferred to a second lodging. Coming from Wired Hotel Asakusa, our next accommodation was just a few minutes walk away, ENAKA Asakusa Central Hostel. We found this via Agoda [CHECK DISCOUNTED RATES & AVAILABILITY], and it was the cheapest hostel we could find that’s within striking distance from where we were.

STRAIGHT TO THE TOKYO SKYTREE

While ENAKA’s simple flat façade was nothing to write your mother about, its location was something you can write to her about; it was even closer to Senso-ji Temple than Wired, and the street it’s on looks straight towards the towering Tokyo Skytree.

ENAKA HOSTEL’S LOUNGE AREA

HUGE CENTRAL TABLE WITH A FIRE PIT

Inside, a huge communal wooden table is set up with a fire pit right in its midst. A darkened tin pot hangs down from the ceiling, which I guess contains either hot water or Japanese tea. Guests were hanging around the area, a few were watching a Japanese show on a flatscreen television while most were simply engrossed on their mobile phones. On one side of the common area stands a small kitchen where guests can actually cook.

A FULL WORKING KITCHEN

This space is where the hostel got its name, enaka in Japanese means a traditional dining area. And for authenticity, this exact place used to be a restaurant frequented by celebrities in the fifties after doing shoots on the fifth floor studio, which I guess, are now bedroom spaces.

LAUNDRY ROOMS, OR AS THEY SAY IT, RANDRY ROOM

Before going up, we were given a small key by a strikingly beautiful Japanese lady who speaks really fluent English. It wasn’t for our room but for our shoes. She politely asked to deposit our shoes on a locker box before proceeding to the dorm upstairs. En route, we passed a laundry room with washing machines with drying capabilities. These are rented out for JPY400.00 per use, including the detergent, which is automatically applied.

THE MIXED DORM ROOM

ENAKA Hostel offers capsule beds and bunk beds for mixed and female dorms. Besides the usual single beds, they do offer double beds for couples wanting to intertwine with their partners at night, lol.

INSIDE THE CAPSULE ~ PHOTO BY BLISSFULGURO

There are lockers on each capsule, a power socket, a place where you can hang clothes, a foldable table, and a personal light. The lockers, however, are too small for all of our baggages, and with that, they provide a space right in front of your beds where you can chain your bag against the wall.

TOILET AND BATH AREA WITH SEPARATE WASH LAVATORIES

Toilets are, of course, shared but they are quite spacious. I read from their site that they even have a goemon-buro or hot spring, which is available until eleven in the evening, but I wasn’t able to see it during our stay.

ROOF DECK WITH A VIEW OF TOKYO TOWER

THIS MUST BE REALLY BEAUTIFUL IN THE EVENINGS

Besides its location, price, and the very beautiful lady at the front desk, the main draw of ENAKA hostel for me is its rooftop terrace which looks over the low-rise structures of Asakusa and the Tokyo Skytree beyond. I can just imagine how beautiful this must be during the evenings, which unfortunately, we won’t be spending here anymore.